On October 17th 2013, teenage sisters Ayan and Leila Juma left their Oslo home and headed for Syria. Deeply radicalised and intending to take part in jihad, they had planned the trip in secret for months. But their decision tears the Juma family apart, as parents Sadiq and Sara struggle to come to terms with…
Writing about true stories can often be a rewarding experience, because these are the most relatable and intriguing ones for the reader. However, on the flip-side there are also ethical questions involved in this particular game and one needs to ensure that a subject is properly represented. This tug-of-war act between the journalist and the…
These days our tabloid magazines are obsessed with the love lives of the rich and the famous; but have you ever wondered what these stories would look like if the subjects were famous composers from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries? ABC broadcaster Christopher Lawrence has the answer along with a dash of poetic licence…
With summer slowly kissing us goodbye and winter around the corner, the blues are getting ready to set in. But turn that frown upside down because April is packed full of arts events that will keep you smiling! From the Sydney Comedy Festival to Melbourne’s annual Tattoo Festival- get inspired this Autumn and settle in…
Billy Elliot the Musical will return to the Aussie stage in 2019 for its 10th Anniversary Tour. It has been revealed that performances will be expanding its locations, having originally performed exclusively in Melbourne and Sydney in 2007, will now be hitting up stages in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide. A gritty yet heart-warming story, Billy…
It was a huge celebration of talent and an epic display of performances at the 35th Green Room Awards, celebrating the talent and achievements of Melbourne’s art community. Since 1984, The Green Room Awards have been recognising the professional contributions of all those involved in Melbourne productions. This year’s, hosted by MCs Anni Davey and…
The world-premiere season of the true-crime immersive theatre production, DEADHOUSE: Tales of Sydney Morgue, will be presented by Blancmange Productions and Actors Anonymous from 24th April to 19th May. DEADHOUSE: Tales of Sydney Morgue will present two unique shows based on the notorious crimes of Leonard Lawson and Louisa Collins. With a cast of 11…
After Jane spectacularly quits her awful job, she and housemate Kel decide it’s time to rent out the sunroom. Roy seems to be the perfect candidate. He’s quiet and he cooks and he’s not looking to impose on the girls’ karaoke nights any time soon. But Kel isn’t so sure and she’s ready to put…
Hours after landing in Australia, we spoke with US comedian, three time author, podcast host and former host of The Man Show, Doug Stanhope. He exclusively spoke to the AU’s Lachlan Mitchell about his upcoming appearance on an episode of the Roseanne revival, Roseanne Barr’s twitter feed, why he hates sitcoms, why he feels his season of…
John Cameron Mitchell, the Tony Award winning actor/director/writer is making his Australian debut in June 2018 with his new show, The Origin of Love: The Songs & Stories of Hedwig. John Cameron Mitchell is well-known for his role as director, writer and actor in the film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, for which he received…
A fifty-something Australian artist and a 32 year old Indian spice merchant. It doesn’t exactly sound like the perfect basis for a lasting friendship. But Tarun Singh Inda became like a brother to author Barbara Carmichael, opening his heart and home to her over ten years worth of trips between Australia and India. Tarun passed…
Susie Elelman is a much-loved Australian media personality who has appeared on daytime television and radio for several decades. She has also waged a rather public battle with her weight and those experiences shaped her first book, Half My Size released in 2005. Now in 2018, Elelman follows-up that title with another self-help book, Still Half…
Canberra’s highly prized National Gallery of Australia has been quite the destination as of late and the buzz isn’t going anywhere soon, especially when the recent opening of Cartier: The Exhibition. From now until July 22nd, one of the most significant and comprehensive collections of jewellery to ever be displayed in Australia will be presented…
Kicking off her book The Stripper Next Door with her days as a yoga instructor, it was hard to believe what the past would reveal for Emma Lea Corbett. Corbett was seventeen when she answered an advertisement in the newspaper seeking dancers and hostesses offering “great $$$ potential“. Looking towards a future as a home…
Callum Smith, the Wordsmith, ‘Words’ for short, is a journalist of the old school. An expert manipulator, he spends his days flirting, drinking, and chasing stories. But when his wife leaves him, Words’ devotion to the big story begins to spiral out of control. Desperate to keep her and his son in his life, he’ll…
The winners of the 2018 Indie Book Awards have been announced, with Jessica Townsend’s Nevermoor becoming the first children’s book to take out the main prize in the Indies’ ten year history. The awards recognise the important role indie booksellers and bookstores have in the success of homegrown authors, by engaging with customers, recommending works outside the…
The Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) have announced the winners of their international ambassadors, Rose Byrne and Rebel Wilson’s, scholarships for 2018. In its third year of applications, and with an abundance of talented young women pitching incredibly exciting projects, Rose Byrne narrowed down the list for the ‘Rose Byrne Scholarship for Emerging Female…
If you’ve dreamed of walking the wintery streets of Paris, then get yourself a ticket to this year’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour. Their current production of La Bohème is a spectacular tribute to the most romantic city in the world and will have you dancing in the snow despite the unseasonably warm Sydney Autumn…
The trio from Head First Acrobats, Tom, Cal and Rohan were back for a funny and sexy show of skill and acrobatics in their show Elixir which played to full houses at the Adelaide Fringe. [print_gllr id=11932] For more details about the show, which played at Gluttony during the Fringe, head HERE. ———- This content…
A highlight of this year’s Adelaide Fringe was Grace. The show starred British comedian Katie Reddin-Clancy who presented a solo stand up comedy about Alfie, who steps out on stage as Zora. There are costume changes galore as all personalities from the world of show biz make their way on stage. A fast-paced but bittersweet comedy that…
There are some people who believe that timing is everything. American author and speaker, Daniel H. Pink is someone who appreciates the importance of timing, as he describes in his new book – When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. Pink believes that timing is not an art but a science, and has created a highly…
For all Marvel enthusiasts, there is a total immersive experience that awaits you. This world-class experience steeped in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, integrates science and modern technology with movie based props for all of you to experience for yourselves. The Marvel’s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. Melbourne experience includes never before seen exhibits on Black Panther, Thanos and The Wasp. The…
America has an interesting and contentious relationship with soccer. Where the world game has been at the centre of global sports (and often politics) for centuries, Americans sidelined the sport during the depression years, only to resurrect it in the 1960s as a high school game. With many young boys choosing American football (the nation’s…
A city’s cultural ecology is a complex beast made up of layers of interwoven factors that influence and feed each other. These layers respond and support different phases of the most crucial factor in the creative ecology “the artist’s” life, work and career. Generally to start with, artists do a Degree and emerge from their…
A lot of us are now aware that the brain is plastic and has the ability to change and adapt. A new area of neuroscience that looks to take advantage of this phenomena is cognitive enhancement. This is a field that sees individuals alter the way their brain and mind works in order to make…
Truthfully, I had no idea who John McPhee was when I picked up this book. I knew only a few things about the book at all- that it was about writing, that it was published by Text (a fabulous Australian publisher whom I trust with my reading material), and that it had a glowing quote…
Roald Dahl’s iconic story, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been transformed into a musical and will be hitting an Aussie stage for the first time at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre in January 2019. It’s the magical story of a young boy, Charlie, who wins the tickets of all tickets – the golden ticket, that allows…
Power, sex and politics are just some of the themes that will be explored at this year’s 21st Sydney Writers’ Festival (SWF). Returning to Sydney from 30 April to 7 May, SFW will welcome around 400 Australian writers, academics and public figures, and 60 international writers for a week of talks, performances and workshops at…
Two men, fleeing for their lives, arrive in a small country town. The townspeople, desperate to know where they have come from and what they have seen, assign a group of Trustees to find out more. But as the men prove unable to speak of their trauma, the town’s early hospitality is slowly withdrawn, replaced…
I have a new art crush. The more I hear about him the more I want to know. Renowned American earthwork artist Robert Smithson died way too young in 1973, but in that short 35 years he managed to secure himself a position as one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. Robert…
